Hopping down the Bunny Trail!

It's egg decorating time!  Evie and Mommy start by using crayons before they begin the coloring of the eggs, one of our favorite techniques.  

  

 

 Ellie likes to do her dying one-handed, the other hand clasping a donut.  She likes going for a full dunk with her hands, no spoon needed.
 

Ellie takes notes on big sister's techniques.  

 Evie celebrates a job well done with a chocolate donut, which kind of makes her look like she has a mustache.  What a beautiful rainbow of colors!  Poor Daddy was not allowed to make camouflage eggs this year (that probably explains why almost all of them were found).

Evie and Molly have fun playing outside before the big egg hunt begins. Molly introduced Evie to her dolphin Ruby.

And then the hunt was off!  Stan shows off his basket of eggs, he's a natural! 

Bryn takes a run around the yard in delight.  Did someone say eggs?!?

Evie finds a yellow jellybean in a tree.  

Ellie gets into the action. 

 JJ holds up her basket of eggs proudly. 

Our annual Easter picture of the kids! Soon after, we had the hunt for the adults and managed to find all but 2 of Popi's well-hidden eggs, with the help of our little experts.

 

After the big hunt and a delicious lunch,we celebrated Molly's fourth birthday. Molly takes a big breath to blow out her candles (hmmm... it looks as if she has aged a couple of years with seven of them, but she was able to get them all out in one big blow). 

Grandma Bebe sings a special song for Molly while it looks as if Evie got a quick lick of frosting. 

The three cousins check out Molly's birthday gifts.  Evie tells Molly the Octonaut changes color in the water.

Ah, what a day!  Gotta lean back and relax! Job well done.

Another McDonald tradition is bringing out the bubbles after the hunt.  Ellie is delighted and loved every bit of chasing after the bubbles, even as they popped in her face. 

Meanwhile, Daddy played "dragon" and chased after all the little princesses (and Stan the prince) through the yard.  The only thing that would turn him back to Daddy was a kiss from his princess! 

New Jersey wheeling!

We headed up to Bebe and Popi's on Friday to celebrate Easter!  Evie had a great time pedaling down the sidewalk in the sun.  

 

Ellie got into the action too, by having Mommy push her around on the scooter. 

 

Then she assisted Daddy with planting pansies in the garden - she knows how to wield that shovel.

 

 But she did not help much because Ellie liked pouring dirt back onto the pansies once planted. 

Evie on the go! 

The Third Annual McDonald Easter Egg Hunt

The family was excited to have our first Easter Egg Hunt in our new burrow- we had friends, neighbors, and preschool classmates join us for egg decorating and the big Hunt.  Evie and Ellie started the festivities by making handprint bunnies. Ellie was funny about decorating the eggs - she seemed to enjoy using the spoons to take out the colored water and dump it on the drying eggs.

Earlier that morning, Evie helped Daddy decorate the cupcakes.  We had a delicious spread for our buffet table, with mini ham sliders, snack cups, cream puffs... 

 

... and pastel-colored rice krispie eggs and chocolate-peanut butter bird nests filled with jelly beans.  The girls were hopping all afternoon, as you can imagine!  

 

Ellie on the hunt - we are bundled up because it was 45 degrees (and snow was predicted for the next day!).  Her basket was bigger than her head!

 

 

The girls and friends looking for any last eggs - man, those go quickly! 

 Sam proudly holds up his six eggs - success! 

...while Mom Emily and baby Lara check out the action.  Next year, Lara, you'll be able to participate!

Everyone had a great time - and the girls were great hostesses.  We take a break after clean-up to celebrate.  Unfortunately, Ellie had chocolate all over her dress... and usually her face.  Thankfully, she was ok with the grown-ups wiping down her face occasionally throughout the day.  

 

One big laugh before we all go to bed at 7:00 p.m.! 

And hunting season begins!

It is our favorite time of the year... Easter!  Ellie and Evie got dressed in their Easter finest and headed over to Ba's and Opa's for their first egg hunt of the season.  Ellie is wearing her Kardashian fur coat that Aunty Lillian gave her for Christmas.

 

The twins have their baskets ready and are on the hunt! 

 

Evie attempts to give her sister a hug but Ellie is transfixed by what's in her basket. 

 

Cute smiles with Ba! 

 

By the time we got around to a family pix, the kids' interest is waning in taking pictures, leading to two disgruntled parents. 

Ellie's new thing is going to the freezer and straining to open it so she can get some ice cream.  She's also developed an awesome pouty face when she doesn't get the ice cream that is quite hilarious.

 

Later the kids did some dancing to the Hallmark machine's chicks doing "We got the Cheep", that 80s classic.  

 

One good picture with Ba and Opa?  We'll take it! 

Evie was very involved in an equal distribution of goodies between the two sisters' baskets.  And this is just the beginning of a great season! 

 

A little dancing, a little culture!

 

Saturday morning it was off to London's 2nd birthday party, where both girls got into the action during the music class with their maracas. 

Later Ellie got a little mischievous and was hiding maracas, shoes, scarves... by the end of the party, she was rolling around on the floor, ready for her nap.  That's when you know it's been a good party.

 

 

Evie happily licks her fingers after enjoying her Krispy Kreme from the donut cake. 

Later that night we headed over to the Kennedy Center, which was wrapping up their Nordic Cool exhibit.  The girls take a look at the display in the lobby, a Viking ship made out of men's dress shirts. 

 

Then it was off to the Lego display where the girls had a blast making some... interesting sculptures.  

Mom and Ellie pose before the polar bear mural made entirely out of Legos. 

Here is Evie's masterpiece... an amazing replica of the Kennedy Center!  Yeah, that's the ticket! 

Daddy helps lift Ellie up so she can make her second tower even taller. 

The girls got a kick out of having Daddy chase them around the terrace and run some races.  Later that night Evie complained about her sore legs. Sounds like her Mom. 

Little sis Ellie was right behind with a giant smile on her face!  On Sunday, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a little bit o' culture. Daddy took Ellie to Imagination Stage for some special Daddy-daughter bonding time, where they acted out "Goodnight Moon" and actually played with some mush.  

Meanwhile, Mommy took Evie to the National Gallery of Art for some special Mommy-daughter bonding time. They have an awesome "Stories in Art" program where she studied "The Human Condition" by Rene Magritte, listened to a children's book about the artist, and then rolled up her sleeves to make some art of her own with oil pastels.  We had a great afternoon!